Anticipating a deluge of requests for help and with no national strategy in place, mental health hospital administrators are raising their hands in defeat, warning that they are ill-equipped to handle the aftermath of the war. Yedioth Aharonoth and Ynet have learned that these administrators are contemplating a press conference where they will go public with their inability to deliver adequate treatment.
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The mental health system, particularly hospitals, was already grappling with personnel shortages and unmet standards even before the war, largely due to low wages that drove many professionals to the private sector or health funds. This crisis has previously led some hospital managers to even consider resignation, unable to ensure medical care in a situation where one doctor is at times responsible for 60 to 100 inpatients per shift in some hospitals. The scenario becomes even more dire during night shifts.
Despite no significant change in the current number of referrals, the mental health system anticipates a surge in patient numbers and hospital admissions once the war ends, similar to past such events. This expected influx will put a considerable strain on the hospitals. It is projected that, post-war, at least 200,000 individuals will require mental health care of varying degrees and in different settings. In addition, around 200,000 people who are already dealing with mental health issues could see their conditions worsen.
An urgent appeal was issued to Moshe Bar Siman Tov, the director general of the Health Ministry, on Monday. Signed by 11 hospital administrators and senior figures from the mental health system, it read: "The event on October 7 necessitates immediate preparedness for a substantial increase in mental health treatment needs across Israel. We're already grappling with a significant expansion of required tasks, and caregivers are being forced to improvise."
A hospital manager emphasized the urgency of the situation. "We must swiftly encourage therapists to return to public service. The current situation, with everyone transitioning to private practice, is unsustainable. Professionals are leaving hospital positions for higher-paying roles. We demand fair wages for public sector workers. A senior doctor on our team, without on-call duties, earns a gross income of 10,000 to 12,000 shekels. They could earn this amount in just three to five hours at their private clinic," the manager said.
He further noted the impact of the war. "The war has exacerbated the situation by placing additional strain on an already overstretched system," he continued. "We're anticipating a dramatic upsurge in emergency room visits, yet our emergency departments are far from standardized. I have to reassign a doctor from the wards to the emergency room. Thus, our emergency room doctors come at the expense of our ward doctors. Everything is a trade-off."
In response, the Health Ministry said in a statement: "The ministry has devised a thorough plan addressing mental health in the aftermath of the war, covering all aspects of care, in hospitals and in the community. The plan hinges on a substantial boost in resources, to facilitate the hiring of professional staff by enhancing compensation and offering incentives for specialization in psychiatry. Currently, we're in negotiations with the Ministry of Finance for the execution of this plan, and we will fully unveil it to the public in the upcoming days."